The Honourable Sheilah L. Martin was appointed today to the Supreme Court of Canada. In the Federal Court, Justice Paul Favel was appointed to replace Justice Russell who elected to become a supernumerary judge. Appointments were also made to the Saskatchewan and Quebec courts. Continue reading Appointments→

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held today that the promise doctrine is not the correct approach to determine whether a patent has sufficient utility. As a result, the lower court decisions finding the patent at issue directed to Esomeprazole/Nexium invalid for want of utility, were set aside.

The Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision today in Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc.,2017 SCC 34, with the majority holding in the 7-2 decision that the trial judge should be given deference in determining an interlocutory injunction, and where it is necessary to ensure the injunction’s effectiveness, a court can grant an injunction enjoining conduct anywhere in the world, including in this case against third-party Google. The underlying proceeding related to passing off and trade secret infringement by a defendant which was conducted outside B.C. through a series of changing websites.

The Supreme Court announced that it will be releasing the decision in AstraZeneca Canada Inc. et al. v. Apotex Inc. et al. on Friday, June 30th. It is expected that the decision will consider whether lower courts erred in law in finding the patent invalid: (i) on the basis of a “promise of the patent” utility doctrine; and/or (ii) by applying an incorrect standard for patent utility.

In an announcement today, Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, announced today that she will retire from the Supreme Court of Canada effective December 15, 2017 after 28 years at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments in Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc., et al on Tuesday, December 6th at 9:30, which will be webcast. The proceeding arose as a trademark and trade secret proceeding in which the court granted an injunction against the third party, Google, displaying certain search results globally. Continue reading Extraterritorial Injunctions→

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I am a partner at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP practicing in the area of intellectual property. Material on this website are my own views and do not reflect the position of DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, any of its member firms around the world, or any of its clients. IPPractice.ca grew out of my hobby to gather and share interesting updates on intellectual property to friends and colleagues. This website does not provide legal advice, and should not be relied upon. Hope you enjoy the site - Alan Macek